Chicago Fire season 14 has come to an end for the time being, and the fall finale left fans with quite a lot to process.
Sal’s father somehow managed to get out of jail, leaving Sal speechless and with just as many questions as the audience at home. Chief Pascal learned that Engine 51 was in danger of being decommissioned, which would result in Mouch losing his job. And then there was the final moment of the season, which saw an unidentified figure setting fire to the lobby of the building of the principal’s apartment while Severide and Van Meter were trapped inside.
We watched as the fire began to spread through the apartment, climbing up the exterior to the top floor from the outside as the episode came to a close, leaving us to worry about Severide, Van Meter, and the principal they had gone to see. In the promo for the winter premiere, we got a glimpse into the immediate fallout from the scene as smoke alarms began going off within the apartment as the trio spoke. When Severide opens the door of the apartment, he quickly discovers flames engulfing the hall and stairway outside.
Due to the fire, there’s no way for the trio to exit the apartment via the stairway and, unfortunately, the building does not have a fire escape. With no way out, Severide begins thinking on his feet, and we see him use sheets to create a rope. He ties one side to the bed’s headboard to use as an anchor, with the plan being to use it as a way to climb down to safety.
The principal they had come to visit is the first one out the window, which isn’t surprising at all. Severide and Van Meter are both firefighters so, of course, their first instinct will be to save the civilian before saving themselves. And therein lies the reason fans should be concerned that the winter premiere could possibly feature a death.
I’m not at all worried about something happening to Severide. He’s too important to the show and it’s clear that the writers still have big things to come for the character. While the show has surprised us in the past, there’s just no way they kill Severide. However, there is another character we could see the writers killing in the premiere: Van Meter.
In the promo for the winter premiere, we see Van Meter crouching down low to the ground as he coughs from the smoke and flames surrounding him. Just before the promo fades to black, we see an explosion blow open the door behind Van Meter. Could it be that Van Meter is going to stay behind in the apartment to secure the makeshift sheet rope to help make sure Severide makes it out of the fire safely? That certainly seems like something he would do, especially knowing the relationship between him and Severide.
Killing Van Meter would also be a major death for the show, without coming at the expense of the series losing a series regular character. His death would surely hit Severide hard, as Van Meter has long been a mentor to him, but that’s honestly part of why I’m worried about him. Pascal has really taken Severide under his wing this season, could it be the show has been preparing to write Van Meter out of the series this entire time without us even realizing it?
There’s really no way to tell, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think it was a real possibility that Van Meter could be in danger with a death opening the winter premiere. We haven’t had a notable named character death on the show in a bit now, and it’s certainly time to worry that one could be coming as 2026 begins.